1. Field of Invention.
The instant invention relates to a braiding apparatus.
2. State of the Art.
Hair braiding is one of the oldest forms of enhancing a person""s physical appearance. More than simply pulling the hair back to reveal the attractive features of the face, braiding adds a decorative pattern that adds to the individual""s natural beauty.
Today, there are a number of known braiding machines. Sapkus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,690, discloses a hand-operated hair braiding machine wherein three passages through which hair is drawn are alternately rotated to braid the hair. Each of the passages is disposed in an elliptical gear. The combination of a pinion gear member with its axel disposed in a slot, and a toggling pawl, combine to effect the braiding motion of the elliptical gears.
Gable et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,181, also discloses a hand-operated hair braiding machine providing three passages for hair as cylindrical filament holders, in which cranking a lever mechanically moves the holders to affect the braiding motion.
Shipman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,307,737, discloses a device similar to that of Gable et al., wherein a lever in combination with an aperture is used to effect movement of the hair passage cylinders.
Other patents, to Eronini, U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,996 and 4,427,017, and Mitchel, U.S. Pat. No. 3,421,406, are relevant to the extent they provide other mechanisms for braiding, including hand-held devices for braiding hair on one""s head.
Additionally, braiding is not limited to hair alone. Braiding is useful in the textile industry, and can even be extremely effective in the rope and cable industries. Long ago, it was found that by twisting strands of metal wire the strength of the resulting article was greater than the sum of the strengths of the individual strands. Braiding further enhances the strength of the resulting article because the individual strands are interlocked. If it were possible to find a cost effective and efficient method of braiding strands of metal wire, cables could be produced with substantially enhanced strength and weight capacities.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an effective and dependable braiding machine.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a braiding machine design that is effective in braiding anything from strands of hair for enhancing a persons physical beauty to strands of metal wire for support cables.
The instant invention includes a braiding machine having three or more vessels, each vessel having an outer housing and an internal telescoping mandrel, the vessels being removably mounted, preferably on a portion of two wheel drums, the drums rotating and the direction of each vessel around the drum being altered by a guide. To use the device, strands of hair, fiber, or wire are inserted into an extended telescoped mandrel, the mandrel is collapsed, and a housing is placed on the mandrel to provide a vessel; three or more vessels are then mounted onto the drums and, when the device is powered, the strands in the mandrels emerge from the device as a braid.